Breakfast
$1.37per plate
Prep
15 min
Breakfast · Egg Muffins
Egg Muffins
Egg muffins are a dozen individual baked eggs cooked in a muffin tin, and they are the most portable make-ahead breakfast on the site. A batch takes about 40 minutes, keeps five days, and reheats in half a minute. A serving is 3 muffins, which comes to about 34g of protein and $1.31, or roughly $0.44 per muffin. That protein number earns them a place in our high-protein meals collection. The two things that go wrong are sticking and weeping, and both are solved before the tin goes in the oven: grease the cups far more heavily than feels reasonable, and cook the wet ingredients dry first so they do not release water into the egg. For a handheld breakfast you can freeze instead, try our breakfast sandwiches, and there are more breakfast ideas priced per plate.
$1.31per plate
Estimated recipe total
$5.24 · serves 4
Cook
22 min
Total
42 min
Serves
4
Recipe from Budget Plates · https://www.budgetplates.com/egg-muffins
Equipment
- 12-cup muffin tin (silicone releases best)
- Whisk
Variations
- Swap in cooked chopped bacon or diced ham for the sausage.
- Stir in wilted, well-squeezed spinach or cooked mushrooms for extra vegetables.
- Leave out the sausage and use extra well-dried cooked vegetables for a meatless version.
1 How to make it
1
Heat the oven and grease the tin properly
Heat the oven to 350 F. Grease a 12-cup muffin tin thoroughly, going up the sides of every cup and into the corners, using softened butter or a generous spray. Egg sticks to metal harder than batter does, so be heavier-handed than you would be for muffins. This is the step that decides whether they come out whole.
2
Cook the sausage and pepper dry
Cook the sausage in a skillet over medium heat, breaking it into small crumbles, for 6 to 8 minutes until browned. Add the diced pepper for the last 2 minutes and cook until it softens and stops steaming. Drain well. Any water left in the pepper or fat left in the meat ends up as a puddle in the bottom of the cups.
3
Whisk the eggs
Whisk the eggs with the milk, salt, pepper, and onion powder until completely smooth and uniformly pale yellow, with no ribbons of white left. Whisk longer than you think. Unblended white is what makes a finished muffin rubbery in patches.
4
Fill the cups
Divide the drained sausage, pepper, and cheddar between the 12 cups, then pour the egg mixture over to fill each cup about three-quarters full, roughly 1/3 cup each. Leave the last quarter empty. These puff considerably in the oven and settle again as they cool, and cups filled to the rim overflow and weld together.
5
Bake 20 to 24 minutes
Bake for 20 to 24 minutes, until the tops are puffed and set and the centres no longer jiggle when you nudge the tin. A knife slid into the middle of one should come out clean. Pull them as soon as they are set; eggs held in a hot tin past that point turn rubbery and weep water as they cool.
6
Rest, then run a knife around each
Let the tin sit 5 minutes. They deflate a little, which is normal and not a mistake. Run a thin knife around the edge of each cup before lifting it out, even if they look loose, and they will release cleanly.
2 Cheaper ingredient swaps
- Bacon or ham instead of sausage. Use 6 slices of cooked chopped bacon or 1 1/2 cups of diced ham. Ham needs no cooking or draining and is the easiest swap; bacon is saltier, so drop the added salt to 1/4 tsp.
- Spinach or mushrooms. Both work but both hold a lot of water. Wilt spinach and squeeze it dry, and cook mushrooms until they have released their liquid and it has evaporated. Adding either one raw is the fastest way to a watery muffin.
- Meatless. Leave the sausage out and use 1 1/2 cups of cooked, well-dried vegetables instead. Protein drops to about 20g a serving, below the 25g standard we use for the high-protein collection, so the page's protein figure no longer applies.
- Silicone tin or liners. A silicone muffin tray releases egg far more reliably than metal and needs less greasing. Paper liners are the one thing to avoid: baked egg grips paper and half the muffin stays behind.
3 Budget tips
- Eggs do nearly all the work here, and they remain the cheapest protein per gram in the store. A dozen turns into a dozen breakfasts.
- Half a pound of sausage is enough for the whole tin. Buy the full pound, use half here, and freeze the rest flat for the next batch.
- About $0.44 a muffin, against two to four dollars for a coffee-shop egg bite, which is the entire argument for making a tray on Sunday.
- See more recipes priced per serving in the Budget Plates Index.
4 Storage, freezing & reheating
Fridge
Refrigerate cooled muffins in an airtight container for up to 5 days. Lay a paper towel underneath to catch any moisture they give off, which keeps the bottoms from going slick.
Freezer
Freeze cooled muffins in a single layer, then bag them, for up to 2 months. They thaw overnight in the fridge or reheat straight from frozen with a little extra time.
Reheating
Microwave a chilled muffin for 20 to 30 seconds, or two for about 45 seconds. From frozen, use 50 percent power for a minute first so the middle thaws before the outside overcooks. An oven at 325 F for 10 minutes gives the best texture.
5 Nutrition (per serving)
Calories
500
Protein
34g
Fat
35g
Carbs
4g
Estimates per serving of 3 muffins, calculated from standard ingredient data. Values shift with the sausage and cheese you use. Not a substitute for medical advice.
6 Frequently asked questions
How do you keep egg muffins from sticking?
Grease the tin much more heavily than you would for baking, working butter or spray up the sides of every cup, and run a thin knife around each muffin before lifting it out. A silicone tray releases best of all. Skip paper liners; baked egg grips paper and tears in half when you peel it.
Why are my egg muffins watery?
Something went in wet. Peppers, spinach, and mushrooms all release water as they bake, and undrained sausage adds fat that separates out. Cook and drain everything before it goes in the cups. Overbaking also makes set eggs weep as they cool, so pull the tin as soon as the centres are firm.
How much protein is in egg muffins?
About 34g in a serving of 3 muffins, from the eggs, sausage, and cheddar, calculated from standard food data. Individually that is roughly 11g a muffin. Leaving the sausage out drops a serving to about 20g.
How long do egg muffins keep?
Five days in the fridge in an airtight container, or two months in the freezer. They are one of the better make-ahead breakfasts because they reheat in under a minute and do not need to be assembled or wrapped first.
How is the price per serving figured?
About $5.24 for the eggs, sausage, cheddar, pepper, milk, and seasonings. That is roughly $0.44 per muffin, and a serving of 3 muffins works out to about $1.31. Eggs are the biggest line at $2.28.
Helpful Tools for This Recipe
As an Amazon Associate, Budget Plates may earn from qualifying purchases.
- 9x13 baking dish. A 9x13 dish is the standard size for casseroles and baked pasta, so one dish feeds the whole table. Best for casseroles, baked pasta, stuffed peppers, and baked oatmeal.
- Mixing bowls set. A set of nesting bowls handles prep, mixing, and marinades without dirtying every dish in the house. Best for mixing meatball and patty mixtures, tossing ingredients, and holding prepped components.
- Measuring cups and spoons set. A basic set of measuring cups and spoons keeps amounts consistent, which keeps budget recipes reliable. Best for rice, liquids, and any recipe where the ratio matters.
- Instant-read meat thermometer. An instant-read thermometer takes the guesswork out of doneness, so lean or cheap cuts stay juicy instead of overcooking. Best for chicken, pork, and meatloaf, where a few degrees decides juicy or dry.
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